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Chapter One
The sound of my professor’s voice echoes throughout the classroom. The microphone only makes him louder, yet I don’t think anyone is actually listening. Personally, I tuned him out about an hour and a half ago, which also happens to be when class started. There’s just nothing interesting to me about psychology.
“Alright. Your homework is to read the rest of Chapter 13 and write an essay using the topic given to you at the end of the chapter. You’re dismissed.”
We all gather our things and quickly make for the exit. The chilly fall air causes goosebumps to rise across my skin. I pull my sleeves down over my hands and clench them tightly.
“HEADS!” Someone yells.
I stop just in time for a guy to jump in front of me, catching a football midair and falling backwards onto the grass.
“Sorry about that.” He says, getting up and wiping the leaves from his sweatshirt. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I reply. “I’m fine. Are you alright?”
“Me? Yeah, of course. I take falls like that all the time.”
I can’t help but notice his chocolate brown eyes. They’re such a contradiction to his blonde hair, yet they feel so warm and comforting. It isn’t until he smiles and raises his eyebrows a little that I notice I’ve just been staring like an idiot. Great.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, shaking myself from my thoughts.
He chuckles softly. “I said, I’m Caleb.”
“Oh.” I smile. “Kayleigh.”
“Caleb!” A girl calls his name as she approaches us. Her short blonde hair matches his, making them look like your typical prom king and queen. She wraps her hands around his bicep and steps unnecessarily close to him. “Hey babe. I was looking for you.”
“Well, you found me.” He answers, sounding entirely unamused.
She turns toward me and looks me up and down. I immediately want to crumble under her stare. My arms wrap around my stomach protectively as I look around for any excuse to escape this awkward situation.
“Oh, Kayleigh! You’re Bree’s roommate, right?” I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Of course, she’s friends with Brianna. The two of them are physically flawless, and I’m, well, not.
“Mhm.” I nod.
“Awesome. Can you tell her to call me? She hasn’t answered my texts all day.” I notice how her grip on Caleb tightens until he finally gives in and wraps his arm around her tiny waist.
“Uh. Yeah, sure. I’m sorry though, who are you?”
She glares, making me wish I could vanish even more. “Taylor. We met on move in day. I came by your room to see Bree.”
“Oh.” I fake recognition. “Right, Taylor. Yeah, I’ll tell her.”
She smiles happily. “Thank you mucho.”
“No problem. I really have to get going, though.” I turn my attention to Caleb as I take a step backwards. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Yeah, you too.” He responds.
As I begin to walk away, I can just barely hear them before their voices begin to fade.
“I bet it was.” Taylor sarcastically remarks.
“Stop, Tay.” Caleb reprimands her.
She scoffs. “What? She was all doe-eyed at you…”
I roll my eyes and fix the bag on my shoulder. Of course, someone like him is taken by someone like her. I was downright stupid to think he would be interested in me. She’s perfect and I’m just average.
The walk back to my dorm room luckily doesn’t take long. I open the door, drop my bag next to my desk, and jump into bed - wrapping the covers around my shivering body to warm up.
“Please don’t tell me it’s that cold out. It’s only the beginning of October!” Brianna says from where she’s seated at her desk.
I turn toward her and see her looking back at me. I stutter with my answer, knowing she would never understand the real reason why I’m so frigid.
“N-no. My professor just had the air conditioning on.” I lie, mentally patting myself on the back for coming up with that so quickly.
“Oh.” She frowns and turns back to her mirror. “I swear, some professors are so selfish.”
I hum in acknowledgement as I snuggle deeper into my bed.
“I saw Taylor.” I tell her. “She wants you to call her. Apparently, she’s been trying to reach you all day.”
She gets up and walks over to her bed, making a mess of the blankets as she searches for her phone. “Ah ha. Found it.” She turns around and sits on her bed with her phone in her hand. “Oh yeah, look at that. Oops.” She says and tosses her phone back onto her bed. I laugh softly.
Brianna and I didn’t know each other before we became roommates. She’s on the cheerleading team and is currently rushing one of the sororities on campus. Her and I couldn’t possibly be any more different. At first, I thought she was going to be one of those girls who knows she’s perfect and acts like it. Thankfully, she’s a total sweetheart.
“Bree, you ready to go?” A male voice booms into the room. “Of course, you’re not.” He leans against the door, crossing his arms and resting his head to the side. “Hi Kayleigh.” He mocks.
“Ugh.” I groan, rolling my eyes and throwing my blanket over my head. I hear Bree giggle from where she is sitting.
“I’ll be ready in a minute, Holden. I just have to change.” She tells him.
I hear her get up and walk towards the bathroom, while other footsteps come toward me. Suddenly, my blanket is moved away from my face.
“Can I help you?” I ask, not at all masking the bitchiness from my tone.
“Just saying hi to my girlfriend’s roommate.” He answers sarcastically and sits down on the side of my bed.
“Hi.” I deadpan. “Now, do you mind?”
He smiles brightly. “Not at all.” He leans back against my legs, causing me to move over to avoid being crushed.
Bree comes out of the bathroom wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a crop top. Her long blonde hair is curled perfectly, and the color of her top makes her hazel eyes look greener than usual. A shiny pink belly ring dangles against her perfect stomach. Can the world please just swallow me up now?
